I Am the ‘Penis and Vagina’ Kid from Kindergarten Cop: A Look Back.

The Austrian Oak is rightfully celebrated as an Hollywood heavyweight. However, at the height of his cinematic dominance in the late 20th century, he also headlined several surprisingly great comedies. The standout film is Kindergarten Cop, which celebrates its 35-year mark this holiday season.

The Role and An Iconic Moment

In the classic film, Schwarzenegger embodies a tough police officer who poses as a elementary educator to catch a killer. During the movie, the procedural element acts as a simple backdrop for Schwarzenegger to have charming moments with his young class. Without a doubt the standout involves a student named Joseph, who out of nowhere stands up and states the former bodybuilder, “It's boys who have a penis, and girls get a vagina.” Arnold responds dryly, “I appreciate the insight.”

The boy behind the line was played by former young actor Miko Hughes. His career featured a notable part on Full House playing the antagonist to the child stars and the haunting part of the resurrected boy in the 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. He still works in film today, with a slate of movies listed on his IMDb. Furthermore, he frequently attends popular culture events. He recently shared his experiences from the set of Kindergarten Cop 35 years later.

Behind the Scenes

Q: To begin, how old were you when you filmed Kindergarten Cop?

Miko Hughes: I believe I was four. I was the youngest of all the kids on set.

That's remarkable, I can't remember being four. Do you retain any flashes from that time?

Yeah, to a degree. They're snapshots. They're like mental photographs.

Do you recall how you got the part in Kindergarten Cop?

My family, especially my mother would bring me to auditions. Sometimes it was an open call. There'd be a room full of young actors and we'd all patiently queue, enter the casting office, be in there briefly, read a small part they wanted and that's all. My parents would help me learn the words and then, once I learned to read, that was the initial content I was reading.

Do you have an impression of meeting Arnold? What was your take on him?

He was incredibly nice. He was enjoyable. He was good-natured, which I guess stands to reason. It would have been odd if he was a dick to all the kids in the classroom, that probably wouldn't make for a good work environment. He was a joy to have on set.

“It would have been odd if he was unpleasant to all the kids in the classroom.”

I knew he was a huge celebrity because that's what my parents told me, but I had not actually watched his movies. I knew the air around him — it was exciting — but he didn't frighten me. He was simply playful and I was eager to interact with him when he wasn't busy. He was busy, obviously, but he'd occasionally joke around here and there, and we would cling to his muscles. He'd show his strength and we'd be dangling there. He was incredibly giving. He purchased for each child in the classroom a yellow cassette player, which at the time was the hottest tech. It was the coolest device, that funky old yellow cassette player. I played the Power Rangers soundtrack and the Ninja Turtles soundtrack for ages on that thing. It wore out in time. I also received a genuine metal whistle. He had the referee's whistle, and the kids all were gifted copies as well.

Do you remember your time filming as being positive?

You know, it's interesting, that movie became a phenomenon. It was such a big movie, and it was such an amazing experience, and you would think, looking back now, I would want my memories to be of working with Arnold, working with [director] Ivan Reitman, the location shoot, seeing the set, but my memories are of being a selective diner at lunch. For example, they got everyone pizza, but I didn't even like pizza. All I would eat was the meat from the top. Then, the first-generation Game Boy was new. That was the big craze, and I was quite skilled. I was the smallest kid and some of the older kids would hand me their devices to beat difficult stages on games because I was able to, and I was quite pleased with myself. So, it's all youthful anecdotes.

The Line

OK, the infamous quote, do you remember how it happened? Did you understand the words?

At the time, I likely didn't understand what the word shocking meant, but I knew it was provocative and it made adults laugh. I was aware it was kind of something I wouldn't usually utter, but I was given an exception in this case because it was humorous.

“It was a difficult decision for her.”

How it was conceived, based on what I was told, was they didn't have specific roles. A few scenes were part of the original screenplay, but once they had the kids together, it wasn't pure improvisation, but they worked on it while filming and, reportedly someone in charge came to my mom and said, "We're thinking. We want Miko to have this line. Are you okay with this?" My mom didn't agree right away. She said, "Let me think about it, let me sleep on it" and took a short while. She really wrestled with it. She said she had doubts, but she felt it would likely become one of the iconic quotes from the movie and her instinct was correct.